Marionette ¦¦ Chishiya Shuntarou x OC

King of Hearts - Part Two

"So we just talk?" Kurenai asked.

"That's what the rules said."

"What about?"

"Anything you like."

Ito Akihiro, it had been only a minute into the game and Kurenai already hated his guts. He answered her questions, though they were not much of an answer in any way. Perhaps he was still trying to gauge her and not give away too much in case she could use it against him in the game.

She went quiet for a little, just observing the man sitting opposite her. Ito Akihiro, she was sure she had heard of that name before, but where?

"You seem to be fixating on something," Akihiro smiled. "Could it be, you're trying to think of who I am?"

"Hm, you read my mind. Like I said, your name is quite familiar."

"Well, it's not fun if no one talks since that's the point of the game so how about I start? Tell me about your father, Kurenai. Do you have a good relationship with him?"

His mind game was already starting. He was hiding his identity, not because he did not want her to know who he was, but simply to toy with Kurenai. It was something she wanted and he was not giving it to her. If she was an ordinary person, she would be irritated. Almost like that itch in your brain that you could not scratch. But Kurenai was no ordinary person.

"My father?" What did bother her, however, was the fact that it seemed like he knew enough about her to be playing this game a little unfairly. "I have a normal relationship with him, like any other father and daughter."

"Lie."

Instantly, Kurenai was shocked with electricity.

It was not a high enough voltage to kill her, though it was intense enough to cause pain. It lasted about ten seconds but it felt like an hour to her.

"Hurts, doesn't it?" Akihiro smiled. "That's the 'punishment'. If you are caught lying, or if you fail to correctly catch a lie, you will be shocked."

"Good to know," Kurenai mumbled, straightening herself in the chair.

The screen to their right changed, with her side now displaying a '-1'.

As painful as it was, Kurenai had to try out the punishment. Not knowing was a psychological torture because she would be too scared and conscious of making a mistake, and would probably end up making a fatal one. Now that she knew what to expect, she could play the game with a weight off.

And she knew exactly how to play this game.

"You're right," she said. "I lied. I hate my father. Do you know what the media calls him? Chuya Atsushi, the angelic father. Angelic..." she laughed, looking at the cross on the altar between them. "He puts on a show for everyone, pretending to be the best father but he's probably worse than Satan himself."

"Comparing your father to Satan is not very filial of you. As his daughter, you should be respecting him. Have you ever tried to understand why your father does what he does? Try to see his point of view? Understand his struggles? God tests us for a reason, and when you endure his tests, he will see your bravery and dedication, and he will reward you."

Kurenai laughed.

Quite manically.

A long time ago, she believed that all the abuse she suffered was exactly as Akihiro said, a test from God. Then she felt as if God had abandoned her. Then she realised, there was no God because if He was real, she would not be suffering. She would not be crying herself to sleep. She would still have a mother.

"I wish that my father would die every single day," Kurenai said. "Every time I look at him, I wish he would have a heart attack. Or get hit by a car. But then I thought, no. I don't want him to die, because simply dying is...too simple. I want him to suffer. I want to be the one who makes him suffer. What does your God say about that?"

"You know, I used to think that way too. When things got too rough with my wife, I thought, how simple would it be for me to just kill her. Then I would get my peace and quiet. But God spoke to me, and He made me realise that violence is not the way. By communicating with her, we were able to work through our differences. That is what you should do with your father."

Pointing a finger at Akihiro, Kurenai smiled. "Li~ar."

This time, it was Akihiro who got shocked.

"How did you know?" he asked, breathing a little heavily.

Akihiro had to admit, he was rather impressed with Kurenai although the game had just started. There were a few players they kept their eyes on, and Kurenai was one of them. She got on their radar early on, when she was participating in games every night of her sojourn in Borderland. She then climbed higher on the list during her residency at the Beach. She was tagged as a Hearts player, and Akihiro had been looking forward to playing against her since.

And she was proving her worth so far.

Kurenai pointed to her own left ring finger, then indicated to his hand. "There's a mark where a ring used to be, a difference in colour of your skin. It's too light to be recent, so you must have taken the ring off a while ago. And you see, humans are creatures of habit. When you've had something on your finger for long enough, you'd feel weird not having it there anymore. Most people would subconsciously touch that area, out of habit. Not you though."

Nodding with approval, Akihiro applauded her.

"So which was it? Did you divorce her? Or did you go through with it and killed her?"

"We went our separate ways."

"That's not answering the question."

With one simple question, it seemed like Kurenai had flipped the conversation. Suddenly, she was the one attacking him. Akihiro took in a deep breath, calming himself down before smiling at Kurenai.

"Let's talk about your brother."

"Let's talk about your wife."

"Why are you avoiding the subject?"

"You're the one avoiding the subject."

Silence took over.

The way his hands were clenched in tight fists was a sign that Kurenai had gotten under his skin, though he was quick to relax himself after. Having survived until now, the players left were certainly the best of the best. He was right to be warned of her.

"You'd like to know about my brother?" Kurenai asked, dropping the subject of his wife entirely. "What do you want to know about him?"

"Your father always favoured him, surely you must hate him."

"I don't."

"Lie."

Once again, Akihiro was shocked.

Kurenai could not help the smile on her face. Since she had the game figured out, he was going to be the only one shocked from now on.